Latest Articles about South Caucasus
OFFICIALS MEET TO DISCUSS SOUTH CAUCASUS RAIL SYSTEM
Last week, officials from Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey met in Tbilisi to discuss further steps in the construction of another strategically important project in the South Caucasus, the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku (KATB) railway system. The idea to build a railroad that would connect Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey... MORE
CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM REGARDING GEORGIAN-ABKHAZ TALKS
Last week the saber rattling that has characterized Georgian-Abkhaz relation subsided as UN- mediated talks about confidence building commenced. Against a backdrop of continuing mutual violence in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia (see EDM, November 8, 29) the talks are intended to demonstrate that a... MORE
JUDGES ALLEGE THAT SAAKASHVILI’S TEAM IS PURGING GEORGIA’S JUDICIAL BENCH
Widespread allegations about restrictions on judicial independence since the Rose Revolution have received new credibility following sensational confessions by four members of the Georgian Supreme Court. Tamaz Iliashvili, Merab Turava, David Sulakvelidze, and Nino Gvenetadze have publicly accused Kote Kublashvili, chairman of the Supreme Court,... MORE
AZERBAIJAN OPPOSITION DENOUNCES ITS LONG-TIME SUPPORTER ON ELECTION COMMISSION
As Azerbaijan's November 6 parliamentary elections fade into the distance, the more the Azerbaijani opposition is realizing that they missed their best opportunity to secure a role in national politics. Having inflated their expectations prior to the elections and convinced themselves that November 6 would... MORE
SURGE IN RUSSIAN GAS PRICES RAISES EYEBROWS IN ARMENIA
Russia's decision to drastically raise the cost of the natural gas it supplies to several former Soviet republics has been widely attributed to its desire to stave off a further spread of Western influence across its "near abroad." What makes it even more noteworthy is... MORE
IS THE WEST LOSING AZERBAIJAN?
The November 26 post-election violence in Baku marked the end of Western influence in Azerbaijan. After being severely beaten and humiliated by police forces, the pro-Western Azerbaijani opposition has no one else to blame but the West. Its hopes for U.S. support to "overthrow the... MORE
SOVIET-STYLE REFERENDUM FAILS TO BRING ARMENIA CLOSER TO EUROPE
The administration of President Robert Kocharian has enacted its controversial constitutional amendments following a November 27 referendum that raised Armenia's post-Soviet culture of electoral fraud to new heights. Its deeply flawed handling of the vote is also a serious setback for the West's cautious efforts... MORE
KERIMLI BATTLE-CRY SPARKS MELEE IN BAKU
An emotional outburst by Popular Front of Azerbaijan Party (PFAP) leader Ali Kerimli, urging confrontation with the police, turned the opposition's lawful, peaceful November 26 post-election protest rally into a violent melee with the Baku police. Kerimli's rhetoric differed markedly from that of Musavat Party... MORE
GEORGIA’S ACTION PLAN ON SOUTH OSSETIA: A TEST FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Georgia has begun implementing this month the first phase of its action plan for a political settlement of the South Ossetia conflict. This first phase consists mainly of socio-economic measures, such as humanitarian assistance to South Ossetia's population and laying the groundwork for the post-conflict... MORE
MOSCOW AND OSCE CHAIRMANSHIP BLINDSIDING GEORGIA ON SOUTH OSSETIA
Following Georgia's presentation of a political settlement plan on South Ossetia to the OSCE Permanent Council, the Russian side has apparently enlisted the OSCE Chairmanship's assistance in derailing Georgian initiatives on that issue ahead of the OSCE's year-end ministerial conference. Anxious to avoid controversy at... MORE